Detailed Information

About Me:

Dr. Achille Messac received his BS, MS, and PhD from the Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and a former Chair of the AIAA Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) Technical Committee. He is a recipient of the AIAA MDO Award, the AIAA Sustained Service Award, and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award. He has authored or coauthored over 240 publications, of which over 75 are archival journal articles. He recently published a one-of-a-kind book entitled “Engineering in Practice with MATLAB: For Engineering Students and Professionals” by Cambridge Press.

He was elected and serves as the AIAA Director for Aerospace Structures and Design. He is on the Editorial Boards of the Optimization and Engineering Journal, the Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization Journal, and formerly of the AIAA Publications Education Series. He also served as Associate Editor of the AIAA Journal. He chaired and delivered Keynote Addresses at major conferences.

He was Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Draper Laboratory where he led research in the areas of multibody dynamics, structural optimization, and Control Structure Integrated Design, the latter of which he was a pioneer in the early eighties. He led or participated in programs that include the dynamics and control simulations development for the Space Shuttle and Space Station; and the Space Shuttle Stabilized Payload Deployment System for which he received an award. He develops technologies in engineering design and optimization, and wind energy systems.

He has also held several administrative leadership positions, including Faculty Senate President, Dean, Department Chair at Syracuse University, Northeastern University, MSU, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and currently Dean of College Engineering and Architecture at Howard University.

News

Tue, May 19, 2020

Abimbola Oluwade, a 2020 mechanical engineering graduate, has been awarded a graduate fellowship from Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society. Oluwade will receive a cash stipend of $10,000 to pursue graduate studies in mechanical engineering. Oluwade plans to obtain his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering with a concentration in fluid mechanics and thermal processes. Tau Beta Pi Fellowships are awarded on the basis of high scholarship, campus leadership and service, and promise of future contributions to the engineering profession.Read More >>

Fri, May 15, 2020

Mechanical engineering graduate Melissa Douglas will serve as the student speaker for the 2020 College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) Awards and Recognition Ceremony. This spring, Douglas received a 2020 BEYA Student Leadership Award for her outstanding leadership as president of both the DC Alpha Chapter of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society, and the Howard University chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Read More >>